Editorial

During the last year, a group of Yemeni doctors made an early registration to attend an international urology conference, and after completing all the necessary steps, including hotel booking, they failed to obtain visa, as all the embassies fled the country after an armed conflict started there, and even after contacting the embassies in neighboring countries, they were not able to get visas. The above example is one of many cases in which political and security reasons hinder the free movement of medical and health care personnel, and sometimes even humanitarian and food supplies were denied access to people who is in urgent need of it [1].

Formed in 1971, by a group of doctors and journalists Medicines Sans Frontiers or Doctors without Borders is nongovernmental humanitarian organization aiming at delivering health and relief aid to people caught in crises in virtually borderless world. Unfortunately, the borders still exist, and political agendas in many times form an obstacle in front of the doctors’ free movement [2]. Parallel to the tremendous progress of travel and transportation means, which make movement across borders faster and easier, there is also an increase in the security and regulation procedures that make such travel almost impossible for some areas and nationalities.

Diplomats receive special diplomatic passports, which provide special treatment and exemption from certain regulations at borders and customs. In my opinion, doctors and health care personnel should have special treatment and privileges to facilitate their free movement between countries and to or from areas with disasters and conflicts, and if such special treatment requires a special (medical passport), the answer to the above posted question should be: Yes we do.